Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “hieroglyph” come from?

hieroglyph (English) comes from English hieroglyphic, from French hiéroglyphique, from Latin hieroglyphicus, from Ancient Greek ἱερογλυφικός, from Ancient Greek ἱερόγλυφος, from Ancient Greek γλυφή, from Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ, from Proto-Indo-European -íh₂ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

hieroglyph (English): An element of an ideographic writing system; Any...

Definitions

  1. An element of an ideographic writing system; Any...

Ancestry of “hieroglyph”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishhieroglyphica writing system of ancient Egypt, Minoans, Maya...
2Frenchhiéroglyphiquehieroglyphic
3Latinhieroglyphicushieroglyphic
4Ancient Greekἱερογλυφικός—
5Ancient Greekἱερόγλυφοςcarver of hieroglyphics
6Ancient Greekγλυφήcarving, carved work; hole cut
7Ancient Greek-ῐ́ᾱ{{l|en|-ia}}; "suffix forming abstract feminine...
8Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
9Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Words derived from “hieroglyph”

  • hieroglyphical
  • hieroglyphically
  • hieroglyphed
  • hieroglyphist
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →